Hardik Pandya was named as MI's captain

The limelight is nothing new to Hardik Pandya. Whether he's playing for India or the Indian Premier League (IPL), there's always a buzz when he steps onto the cricket pitch. He has already experienced a good number of injury setbacks in his eight years of international competition. However, he has consistently ensured that he returns stronger. He is anticipated to do similarly in the next IPL 2024, which begins on Friday.

But this time, Pandya will be under a new glare. And it's not only because of his five-month hiatus. The main reason is really his captaincy comeback to the Mumbai Indians. The daring all-round player, who began his IPL career with MI in 2015, will be joining the team again after playing for the Gujarat Titans for two productive seasons. Pandya guided GT to the finals the previous year and helped them win their first IPL championship in IPL 2022.